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A Very Long Line Of Basketball Stars

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Where do you stop? Where do you say there couldn't possibly be other recognizable names who displayed their sublime talents in the longest continuously operated high school all-star game in the country?

There are too many names to mention, too many players with rainbow jump shots, 360-degree jams and sleight-of-hand artistry, too many athletes who have taken their basketball talents into living rooms via March Madness and the National Basketball Association.

Next Saturday evening, the list seemingly without end will become appreciably longer. Nearly 1,000 people -- or all that the fire marshal will allow -- will settle into the tiny J.C.C. gymnasium on Bridgeport's upper Park Avenue to watch the 35th Schoolboy Classic. As has been the case since 1981, the Connecticut High School All-Stars will play their New Jersey counterparts at 9 o'clock. Early arrivals will witness the Connecticut girls East-West All-Star Game at 7.

"One of the beauty parts of the game," said Bob Prussin, a former Classic committee member, "is when a virtual unknown does a job. That was the case several years ago with William McBroom of Harding. He went on to play at Jacksonville.

"In some cases, when a kid isn't committed to a college, the game becomes a showcase. Michael Adams (now of the N.B.A. Charlotte Hornets via Boston College and Hartford Public) is an example. He was an unknown, a guy 5-8. He came in and electrified the crowd with his scoring and passing."

The people at the J.C.C. are justifiably proud of their long-running Classic, which had its genesis at the old Jewish Community Center in downtown Bridgeport. They talk of the prominent names, of the more than 50 alumni who have played in the N.B.A., of the major college coaches who have visited, of the lasting memories.

"I remember seeing Jim McMillian play in the second or third game when I was a kid," said Robert Schless, a Bridgeport accountant who serves as the Classic's official statistician and unofficial historian. "In 1976, Mike O'Koren played in a national all-star game in Louisville and then flew in for our Sunday game. He scored 27 points for New Jersey and was voted M.V.P."

Ken Liberman, the Classic's long-time chairman, also talks of O'Koren, the former North Carolina star and N.B.A. player, but he's especially enthusiastic when he describes the play of Marcus Camby in the 1993 Classic. "He was a man among boys," said Liberman of the 6-foot-11 Massachusetts all-American who was named Naismith College Player of the Year. Camby, dunking with impunity, was a Hartford senior when he scored 31 points at the J.C.C.

Another tall gentleman, Jeff Ruland, remains the holder of the Classic's single-game scoring record. The 6-10 center, who starred at Iona and in the N.B.A. until injuries aborted his career, poured in 45 points for the championship Long Island squad in 1977.

In that era, the Classic was an all-male preserve, a two-day tournament involving teams from Connecticut, New York City, Long Island and New Jersey. Ruland generated 69 points in his two games. But that same year, the jet-quick Wes Matthews, who became the first of three Harding High graduates to play in the N.B.A., put together games of 37 and 35 points to establish a still-standing record with 72.

The tournament format was abandoned, with some reluctance, in 1981. "When the N.B.A. invoked the rule limiting high school players to appearing in two post-season all-star games, we knew the proliferation of national all-star games was going to hurt us," said Liberman. "We knew we had to change." The solution was elementary: involve the other 51 percent of the population. In 1981, the center introduced the girls' East-West game.

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Liberman, who once coached girls' basketball at Amity Regional High in Woodbridge, has been instrumental in securing many of the state's leading female players for the annual J.C.C. games. There was Tracy Lis of Killingly, who amassed more than 3,681 points, a state record, during her high school career and then starred at Providence. "She still holds our girls' record with 36 points," Liberman noted.

More recently, Jen Rizzotti of New Fairfield was voted Scholar-Athlete of the 1992 Classic. Rizzotti, one of the principal figures in the University of Connecticut's undefeated 1994-95 national championship season and a 1995-96 all-American, probably supplanted Lis as the games' highest-profile female player.

Included among the 1,000 or so basketball aficionados each year are dozens of college coaches and scouts who are seeking the still-unsigned prospect or the yet-undiscovered gem. John Thompson, Lou Carnesecca, Jim Calhoun, Pete Carril, Al McGuire and even the deified John Wooden are known to have visited on occasion.

For the most part, coaches for the Schoolboy Classic's teams are drawn from the Connecticut and New Jersey high school ranks. They receive no pay. Dave Strong, the girls' coach at Masuk High of Monroe, said the challenge of coaching the all-star game, "It doesn't matter if I win or lose -- much." In a slightly more serious vein, he added, "The accent is on the kids and on furthering their careers after high school."

One of basketball's most colorful figures, Howard Garfinkel, is a fixture at the Classic as an organizer and coach of the New Jersey squad. The owner of the Five-Star Camp in Pennsylvania walks the sidelines attired in a suit and chomping on a cigar.

Which year has provided the greatest array of talent? One can make a case for 1972, when the championship Connecticut team featured Walter Luckett (Kolbe High, Ohio University) and the Notre Dame of Fairfield backcourt -- Frank Oleynick and Barry McLeod, who matriculated at Seattle and Centenary, respectively.

New York countered with Mike Dunleavy and Andy Walker. Frank Alagia, later a clever playmaker with St. John's, appeared with Long Island, while the New Jersey roster included Mike Dabney, who would lead Rutgers to an undefeated 1975-76 regular season and the Final Four of the N.C.A.A. Tournament.

Other long-time observers talk of 1970, when Super John Williamson, the Wilbur Cross High all-American who became a New Jersey Nets star, and John Shumate (later an all-American at Notre Dame University) were on the scene. "Just to show he was different, Williamson showed up late and wouldn't wear the complete uniform the center provided," recalled Prussin. "He just electrified everyone with his style of play."

A 1973 Classic participant, Ernie Grunfeld, later an all-America forward at Tennessee and a professional player, grew up to become president of the New York Knicks. Last year, the J.C.C. honored him with its Distinguished Alumnus award. "I made the All-Tournament Team and that was a significant accomplishment for me," Grunfeld said.

Whether there are any Grunfelds, Williamsons or Rulands in the 1996 Classic will be determined on the court.

Several Connecticut players regarded as probable stars-to-be in the college ranks, among them Earl Johnson of Trinity Catholic, Stamford; Marion Parker of Kennedy, Waterbury; Jack Wrentz of Norwalk High's 28-and-0 state championship team, and Eugene (Q) Davis of Kolbe Cathedral, Bridgeport.

On paper, the New Jersey team appears stronger, headed by Ike Williams, a 6-5 forward from undefeated St. Anthony's of Jersey City, winner of the state's Tournament of Champions. Pleasantville High, which lost to St. Anthony's in the championship game, will supply a pair of stars, Rob Strickland and Jamar Perry.

"Every year, we can hardly wait for game day to arrive," said Lieberman. "But like the Rose Bowl Parade, the day after the games, we're beginning for the next year."

A version of this article appears in print on April 14, 1996, on Page CN13 of the National edition with the headline: A Very Long Line Of Basketball Stars. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe